PCV stands for Passenger Carrying Vehicle. Category D is the full version of it — the licence that lets you drive any bus or coach, from a city double-decker to a touring coach. It is the passenger world’s equivalent of a Class 1, and it is a genuinely different job from driving freight.
Category D covers any bus or coach with more than 8 passenger seats, plus a trailer of up to 750kg. There is no upper limit on size, so a full-size double-decker and a 53-seat touring coach are both covered.
If you want to tow something heavier than 750kg behind a coach — a luggage trailer, for instance — that is Category D+E.
The route mirrors the lorry one exactly. A D4 medical, then a D2 provisional application to DVLA for provisional bus entitlement, then theory — multiple choice and hazard perception — followed by CPC Module 2 if you are driving professionally.
Then practical training and your test: the off-road manoeuvres and the on-road drive, plus CPC Module 4. Train with us and the medical, theory and CPC fees are included and booked for you.
One useful detail: if you already hold an HGV licence, you have done the theory and CPC parts already, and adding PCV is a shorter route than starting from scratch.
Bus and coach work suits people who like routine, regular hours and being around the public. Service bus work is local, home every night, and shift-based. Coach work — private hire, tours, school and rail replacement — involves more distance and more variety, and often better pay.
The skill that separates good PCV drivers from adequate ones is not the driving, it is the passengers: managing a full deck, handling someone who is difficult, and staying calm when a route is blocked and forty people want to know why.
PCV roles in the South East typically start around £42,000, and operators are consistently short of drivers.
D1 covers minibuses of 9 to 16 passenger seats. Category D covers everything, including every D1 vehicle.
So unless your employer specifically only needs a minibus driver — a care home, a school run, a community transport scheme — the full Category D is usually the better investment, because it opens up service buses and coaches as well.
Passenger Carrying Vehicle. Category D is the full version — any bus or coach with more than 8 passenger seats, plus a trailer up to 750kg.
A D4 medical, a D2 provisional application to DVLA, theory and hazard perception, CPC Module 2, then practical training, the driving test and CPC Module 4. The same shape as an HGV licence.
Our all-inclusive Category D course is £2,090, covering the medical, theory and CPC fees, training on real vehicles and your DVSA test.
They describe the same thing. PSV — Public Service Vehicle — is the older term and still appears in operator licensing; PCV is what the driving licence category is called.
18 if you hold or are working towards your Driver CPC. Without it, 24.
Yes. Category D includes everything D1 covers, so a D licence holder can drive a 16-seat minibus as well as a full coach.
Category D training on full-size vehicles with DVSA-registered instructors, with the D4 medical and every theory and CPC fee included. Call 01634 907 229.
See the PCV course · Transparent course pricing · Funding and payment plans · Find your nearest centre · Call 01634 907 229
The D1 minibus licence explained · HGV and LGV licence categories explained · What the Driver CPC actually is · What HGV training actually costs in 2026 · How to get your HGV licence — every step · All HGV and PCV guides